Escape to a magical dimension with this week's Exhibitionist in Residence
CBC Arts | Posted: March 7, 2019 4:00 PM | Last Updated: March 7, 2019
Vancouver's Saida Saetgareeva is sending you some cosmic vibes
"Soul searching" is the theme of this week's episode of CBC Arts: Exhibitionists, and it's a topic Saida Saetgareeva has got to be familiar with. Saetgareeva's a Vancouver-based motion graphics designer, and she's also our latest Exhibitionist in Residence — an artist who builds 3D fantasy worlds in her spare time. She dropped out of business school to follow that dream, ditching her accounting degree for a digital design program at Vancouver Film School. And that decision wound up being the next best thing to a Hogwarts diploma.
"Since I was a kid, I wanted magical powers to get into any world that I want to," she laughs. "Motion design gives you all the magic powers to create everything!"
What are you looking at?
"I try to create a world that would be like a picture of an alternative universe almost," says Saetgareeva. "It's like an escape from the normal world that we currently see. It's more magical and fluorescent."
On Instagram, we've all been transported to neon dimensions many times before. Like a lot of folks working in 3D motion design — including a bunch of past Exhibitionists in Residence — Saetgareeva generates glowing, retro-futuristic worlds that are populated by glossy humanoids.
Cosmic vibes vs. cyberpunk
What makes her style her own is in the details. She's made a point of injecting organic touches — plants, crystals, fire — so that things feel more natural, or as natural as intergalactic witchcraft can be. Who knew mushrooms could grow in outer space, for example? Her universe, she explains, takes more inspiration from your dad's old psychedelic black-light posters than cyberpunk.
"That magical cosmic vibe — there's not much of that in 3D," she says. "A lot of 3D projects are very slick and very machine-like. It's not very magical, many projects that I've seen. They're very tech-oriented."
What's new?
The GIFs on Friday's show might be looking towards a fantasy future, but Saetgareeva's most recent work has been time travelling in the opposite direction.
"I'm actually really fascinated right now by Renaissance stuff," she says. (Follow her on Instagram to see where this current obsession will lead her.) "Eventually, I hope I'll find some cool intersection between past and present."
Check out some of her work.
Stream CBC Arts: Exhibitionists or catch it on CBC Television, Friday nights at 11:30 p.m. (midnight NT) and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. (4 NT).